Klug a mainstay in net for West Fargo girls hockey team

West Fargo - The No. 1 goalie spot on the West Fargo girls hockey depth chart has been easy to fill in the last five years.

Senior Andrea Klug has been the starting goalie for the Packers since she was an eighth-grader, and her final season has been one to remember thus far.

Klug’s career wraps up this weekend at the North Dakota state tournament in Grand Forks. Top-seeded West Fargo (21-1-0) plays No. 8 seed Williston (9-14-0) at 11 a.m. today at Ralph Engelstad Arena’s Olympic Rink.

“It doesn’t really feel like it yet, but I’m sure it will kick in soon,” said Klug of her career being down to three games.

Klug has posted 11 shutouts this season and holds a 19-1 record between the pipes. She leads the state in goals against average (0.93) among goalies who have a minimum of five games in net.

“She is fundamentally a sound goalie,” West Fargo head coach Pat Johnson said. “She started out as a little eighth-grader, and now she has some size and is the tallest player on the team.”

“She has a great skill set and work ethic. If she finds a flaw in her game, she wants to keep working at it until it gets better. That is what you want in a goalie.”

Klug plans on playing in college and is choosing between Concordia and Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

It all started her eighth-grade season when Klug went 15-7 with a 1.71 GAA. Klug earned all-state honors that year and has earned that distinction every year since.

“It was pretty wild,” Klug said. “It is hard to believe it went by this fast. It just seems like yesterday when it was all starting.”

As a freshman, Klug posted a 20-2 record and a 1.12 GAA to help the Packers to a state championship.

Klug owns an 86-23 career record and is in the midst of her best season to date, boasting a 95.3 save percentage.

“My team has been putting the puck in the net, and that has been good,” Klug said. “If I can stop the shots that come my way, then I’m happy. I owe a lot of my success to my teammates. They have had my back.”

The amount of experience Klug has in the crease is hard to find. It’s something Johnson is well aware of.

“It is both and good and bad thing, because I’ll have to replace her next year,” Johnson said. “The replacements have not had same amount of ice time as she has. She has logged a lot of games for us.”